Computer storage systems may be provided for handling large volumes of computer-readable data on removable storage media, such as magnetic tape cartridges and optical storage media, to name only a few examples (generally referred to herein as “storage cartridges”). Such storage systems may be provided as automated storage systems including one or more storage locations for a plurality of storage cartridges and a robotic picker assembly (or “picker”) to handle the storage cartridges. One or more tape drives may be included for read/write operations on the storage cartridge. The picker and tape drives are generally be referred to as “storage devices.”
Generating and archiving support tickets for troubleshooting storage systems, while conceptually simple, can prove challenging because of the large amount of data that needs to be collected, processed and presented to the user, which translates into crippling CPU bandwidth, physical memory, and persistent storage requirements.
Even when these factors don't prevent support ticket generation altogether, the time required for such operation can impact usability and device availability. Users who want to generate a support ticket for all of the storage system components have to sequentially generate tickets for each tape drive, interface controllers, the interface manager and the picker. Generating a tape drive support ticket can take up to ten minutes for a tape drive, sixty minutes for a library changer, thirty minutes for the interface manager, and a few minutes for each of the interface controllers (IFC). In a fully configured storage system, this process can take hours during which backup jobs are interrupted. This also increases the time a support team has to stay on-site to troubleshoot device issues.
There are other reporting strategies used for different types of storage devices ranging from network switches to storage arrays. However, tape libraries are architecturally and functionally different from these other device types, and reporting solutions is typically via in-band access that results in device down time as described above.